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A Personal Contact

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Recently I discovered the value of an e-mail. In some ways this must already be clear as day to everyone else but it has always been difficult for me to take the first step in contacting a stranger for assistance, advice, or help. Taking that first step is extremely important for both your career and your education. In school we often read books written by people we’ll never meet and they might even include interviews with other lifelong strangers. The danger is not actually knowing someone who is actually doing what you are trying to learn in school. Whether it … Continue reading →

Are There Personal Qualities for the Perfect Home Business Owner?

What makes a great, successful home business owner? Are there characteristics and qualities that make it more likely that a person will succeed at their home business? I thought it might be fun to share our opinions and ideas about what sort of qualities make for the perfect home business owner? When I think about this, I think of all the qualities that I DON’T have and wish I did. I wish that I was more creative and had unlimited amounts of energy. I also wish that I was a better networker. We all know those people who seem to … Continue reading →

Finding Time for Personal Projects and a Business

Time management is one of those issues we talk about regularly around here in the home business Blog–but it is usually in relation to how to balance home business responsibilities with family life. For some of us, figuring out how to find time for our own personal projects can further exacerbate the time management dilemma. In addition to running my own home-based business and working a more “traditional” (albeit flexible) job and raising a family as a single parent, I am also working on “the book.” Having been published in other genre, I’m determined that my version of a writing … Continue reading →

Writing As A Business

Most people who write find their way to writing due to passion, skill and talent. It tends to be something we do because we enjoy it and develop into being fairly decent writers over time. Making the leap to treating our writing as a business can be the last thing we ever think we’ll do! While in a dream world, writing for pleasure and writing for pay would be exactly the same—that is not necessarily the way things go. There are plenty of typical business details that need to be considered when one decides to write as a business. Just … Continue reading →

Could You Be Tempted Away From Your Home Business?

A friend and former colleague recently asked me if I would give up my home business if the “right job” came along. It was an interesting and provocative question as I haven’t really thought of what I would do if I was offered a fabulous, high-paying, perfect job—could I be tempted to give up the home business I’ve been working so hard to build? As I’ve mentioned before, I started work as a freelancer in reaction to a couple years’ worth of job insecurity in my career as a nonprofit fundraising and development professional. I’d operated a business before with … Continue reading →

Are You Better at Facts or Relationships in Business?

Remember that character on television years ago who used to say: “Just the facts, Ma’am.” Of course, as a police detective, he was in the business of working with people and figuring out relationships, but he was determined to stay focused on the quantifiable facts. I think most of us feel comfortable in one world or the other—either in working with facts and figures, or in working with relationships and people. “Facts” people feel most at home working with terms, prices, dates, calendars, contracts, conditions, and other specifics in the business world. Things that can be written out on paper … Continue reading →

Are You a Leader or a Follower–And Does it Matter in Your Home Business?

Several years ago, I remember there was quite a bit of talk in the business world about “developing leadership skills” and determining whether or not a person was a natural leader or a natural follower. While it would seem that individuals who start their own home businesses might be natural leaders, I’m not entirely convinced that it matters when one is working from home at building a business. I actually think that many of us are some of both–with the capability to be both leaders and followers. I think that adds to our flexibility and our ability to succeed and … Continue reading →

How Well Can You Adjust to Changes?

Even for those of us who don’t think of ourselves as naturally flexible and resilient people, it’s amazing how parenthood and family life can bring out a whole new side to our personalities and help us actually develop more flexibility. And, what parenthood doesn’t do for us in the flexibility department, running our own home business just might… It is said that change is inevitable and that trying to get things to stay the same just makes things worse. But, that doesn’t necessarily make it easier for us. Running a business, however, can be a sea of constant change. It … Continue reading →

What’s Your Business Style?

One of the great things about owning and operating your own home business is that you get to build your business and organize your days bases on your own work and business style. Instead of working for someone else and hoping to find a “company culture” that suits your personality, temperament and work preferences, you can set things up to be a perfect fit. If you are someone who is extremely organized and likes to keep abundant records and files, then you won’t have to worry about an office that may be set up sloppily or coworkers who lose or … Continue reading →